LOC News
LOC Election Summary Report Now Available
This year’s election cycle brought several surprises and most likely outcomes that did not follow national or state polling data. At the national level, some House races have yet to be called, but it is clear the Democrats have lost their majority, but not by margins that were predicted. Historically, the mid-term elections are not kind to the sitting administration regardless of party. But this year, despite losing the House majority, the impact was nowhere near what’s been seen in the last several decades.
With one Senate run-off election scheduled for December 6, Democrats will not lose control, and potentially will have gained one seat, moving them to 51-49 depending on the outcome of the Georgia Senate race. The value of one additional seat in the Senate is significant, because it allows the controlling party to have majorities in committees. The outcomes such as judicial appointments become easier since the committee structure would have a majority of democratic members. This also extends to the process of moving legislation to the floor without extra steps.
For Oregon’s congressional races, there are three new House members. They include Congresswoman Val Hoyle, who won District 4, previously held by Rep. Peter Defazio. For Oregon’s new congressional district, District 6, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas will start her first term in January. In District 5, Representative Kurt Schrader lost his primary to Jaimie McLeod-Skinner, who then lost to Lori Chavez-DeRemer in last week’s general election.
For state election outcomes, Democrats will hold a majority, but not a super-majority in both chambers. This creates a forum for potentially more negotiation on policy issues, because of the three-fifths voting standard for revenue generating bills, or legislation that would redirect “kicker” funds for example. As of today, the Senate is sitting at 17-12-1. The House is shifting as well, with a 35-25 split.
When looking at local measures, every cycle can be hard to predict, but there is certainly a trend with local measure outcomes this year. Despite the state of the economy, there were more local funding/tax measures having success, with two-thirds passing. This includes seven out of 10 schools funding measures for construction or operations.
One of the local measures that was seen in more than 100 cities and 27 of the state’s 36 counties was related to Measure 109, which was passed by voters in 2020. The measure allows for the manufacture and dispensing of psilocybin mushrooms. The local measures being voted on ranged from prohibitions on citing of facilities to significant limitations on businesses that would administer psilocybin mushrooms. Measure 109 allowed local governments to prohibit psilocybin-related businesses, but there was a time clock on local governments passing an ordinance effectively during the November election. Following the election, voters in 133 cities and counties chose to prohibit or place limitations on businesses. Local ordinances were offered largely because the state won’t complete final administrative rules for psilocybin-related businesses until 2023.
One of the potential positive outcomes of this election cycle will be fresh faces in the Legislature that will hopefully bring a broader perspective, particularly with more having a background in local government. There will be a one-third turnover in the Legislature in 2023, and the time is now to reach out to your new or returning state legislator. The LOC will need your local education effort and grass roots advocacy to make a dent in policy work that benefits cities and brings in more state resources to handle the top challenges of local governments.
Download a more comprehensive report of the local measure outcomes here. In addition, OregonLive has a good on-line election tool linked to key state-level races including ballot measure outcomes. You can access their election results here.
NOTE: all election results have yet to be certified and some counties are still counting votes, so stay tuned to your county elections division for any possible changes.
Contact: Jim McCauley, Legislative Director - jmccauley@orcities.org
Last Updated 11/18/22